Blue Bayou
A heavy handed, occasionally moving, look at immigration, citizenship and deportation in the US, anchored in a well performed family drama.
Antonio (Justin Chon) is a Korean-American man who, despite being born in Korea, was raised in the Louisiana Bayou since 3 years of age. But his long time presence in the country, his American accent and the fact that he is an American matter little to a steady stream of people passing through his life; not least of which ICE, who seem set on deporting him after the cop ex of his wife Kathy (Alicia Vikander) and his partner throw Antonio into their grasp for revenge. At a loss for what to do, seemingly helpless against the massive, unfeeling bureaucracy of the United States Government, and with little money, Antonio is at risk of losing his family - not only wife Kathy, but also adopted daughter Jessie (Sydney Kowalske) - if he can’t find a way out.
Written and directed by the lead actor, Justin Chon, you can tell that Blue Bayou is a deeply personal film for him. Told with an unsteady handheld camera vibe, and focusing closely on performance, the film is a vehicle for some truly gorgeous screentime from Chon and Vikander, who both turn in unbeatable performances. Vikander in particular is stunningly good.
Blue Bayou isn’t a subtle film by any stretch of the imagination. There is a lot of heavy handed, good old fashioned emotional manipulation on display here, and often that feels a little cringey. In particular, the ever present Parker (Linh Dan Pham), seems like a redundant subplot that only exists to explain things to an audience that, perhaps in the view of Chon’s writing brain, couldn’t possibly figure this out from visuals and subtext alone. The redeeming quality is the fact that this film is unrelenting in its depiction. It doesn’t need the emotional manipulation to make you realise the gravity of all of this, and despite its presence it is actually the endless array of setbacks and failures that so thoroughly destroy you as an audience member. Like watching a man slowly falling off a cliff.
Despite the sledgehammer tactics of the filmmaking team, Blue Bayou succeeds on three points. Firstly, it showcases a series of gorgeous performances. Secondly, it enlightens you to the relentlessness of the immigration / deportation process, and how impossible to fight it can be. Finally, it makes you feel something raw and real. That’s probably the most important thing, because despite the at times angering filmmaking on display, the way that this family is torn apart may well have you in tears by the end, as Chon rolls a list of real life deported adoptees across the screen.
